For the trigger warnings summary, go to the bottom of the chapter!!
Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese and Bob brought back the medication, and was able to save most the people who were sick. Brooks, Sebastian and Lizzie amongst them. Devastation had reaped the prison, like the Grimm Reaper itself paid a visit and chose its victims, but many were very lucky. There was a point where Hershel had told himself that Brooks was a gonner, that there was no way she would pull through, but he prayed, and God provided.
Despite Carol not being sick... Sophia still lost her mother. That's why Sophia, Lizzie, Mika, Brooks and Beth sat in the field, in a circle. Everybody supporting Sophia, who was resting her head on Beth's shoulder. Brooks was to the other side of her, squeezing her hand tightly. "I just can't believe she would leave me." She cried, tears rolling down her face and hitting Beth's pink shirt.
"I'm so sorry." Brooks said, although her voice was still a little scratchy. Her main symptoms were gone, and that was what mattered.
Sophia shook her head. "No, you're not. You don't even like my mother."
"I do." Brooks insisted. "We had our troubles, but that's in the past. Nevertheless, I love you, Soph. I don't like seein' you like this. I'm so sorry that you're in this pain." She recited from the 'grief book' she read as soon as she found out from Rick that Carol was gone. Brooks stayed up all night, still sick as a dog, making sure she'd be able to comfort Sophia when the time came.
Lizzie looked to the flowers in the middle of the group. "Me and Mika just lost our dad, and Beth's lost her mother, so we all understand your pain. Well, not Brooks, obviously."
"Just because my parents are alive, doesn't mean I can't sympathise. I read a book 'bout it, and I'm good at it now." Brooks tried to defend.
Sophia shook her head. "You can't find everything in a book, Brooks."
Mika nodded in agreement. "Lizzie, dad taught us to be kind."
Lizzie scoffed. "Dad's dead, and he isn't coming back!"
"We should still listen to him." Mika argued. "We're here for Sophia right now, Lizzie."
Beth sighed, saddened for the sisters. "You two don't need to push aside your grief, we're all here for each other."
Lizzie spitefully turned to Brooks. "I don't see how she could be. She hasn't lost anyone."
Pursing her lips together, Brooks went on a mission to prove she could be just as useful. "Sophia, it said that offerin' a hot beverage can make people feel better. Would you like a hot beverage?"
Sophia wiped a couple tears, shaking her head. "No, thanks, Brooks. I don't really want to talk."
The rest of the group fell into silence, but Brooks didn't understand that. "No, you can't. The book said not to let people suffer in silence. So, don't suffer in silence?"
Sitting up, Sophia wiped her fresh fallen tears. "Brooks, I love you, I really do... But, comforting people isn't really where you excel. Wouldn't you rather go check on Seb? I'm okay here, I promise."
"I'm sure he'd love some tea, Brooks." Beth said, kindly, with no ill intent meant at all.
"Oh- uh... Yea, okay." Brooks nodded, standing up. "Well, feel better soon, Soph." And with that, Brooks dragged her feet away from the group where it was clear she wasn't needed. Sophia and Beth loved Brooks like a sister, but they understood she wasn't well equipped when it came to those situations. They also knew it was through no fault of her own, but sometimes it was just best to tell her when she couldn't pick up on social queues.
/----------\
As instructed, Brooks searched for Sebastian, but first she came across her mother and aunt who were chatting beside a car. "Hey, Brooks." Michonne called.
Brooks smiled, and headed over to her aunt and mother. "Hi." Her voice came out weak, and hoarse.
"Still feeling rough, honey?" Marliya asked, putting the back of her hand to Brooks' forehead.
"No." Brooks responded. "Just bummed that Carol left. Soph's taking it hard."
"Understandable." Michonne nodded, feeling sympathy for the Peletier girl she'd grown to love. "I wish there was something we could do to cheer her up."
Sighing, Brooks shrugged. "Don't try offerin' a hot beverage. Goes down like a lead balloon."
"Oh no, the stuff from the book didn't work?" Marliya asked.
"No, ma." Brooks admitted, shaking her head and pushing her glasses up her nose. "I even tried not lettin' her suffer in silence, but turns out that's what she wanted and then they sent me away."
Marliya hummed. "I see. Well, I'm sorry, honey. But, sometimes when people need help? You just gotta let them come to you. Sometimes, people just need space."
"The book said somethin' 'bout space, but I skipped it cause Sophia usually likes people." Brooks agreed. "I'm gonna go find Sebastian, see how he's holding up."
"Alright, honey. See you at supper."
"Yea, bye, Michonne, bye Ma." Brooks waved, and began walking away.
Michonne smiled sadly. "See you tonight."
And with that, Brooks walked away from her mother and aunt. She passed Hershel on the way, he was walking towards the two women. "Hey, pumpkin. How're you feeling?"
"Good, now, thanks to you, Grandpa Hershel." Brooks grinned.
"Nice to hear it, pumpkin." The kind old man chuckled, before both continued on their separate paths.
/----------\
Brooks found Sebastian in his cell, like she suspected. He was just laying there, back to the world as he curled into himself. "Hey, Seb." Brooks offered up, walking into the room and sitting on the bed.
He didn't turn to her, just hummed in response. "Mhm."
"How're you feelin'? After that medicine, I'm feelin' a lot better, though I don't sound it, much." Brooks admitted, trying to make him laugh... But, he couldn't. She pursed her lips, and continued. "Cam been 'round to see ya today?"
"Yea." He rasped out. "Didn't stay long. Gone to see Tyreese 'bout somethin' Rick told 'im, I think."
"Oh." Brooks nodded, not really interested. It was probably something to do with their decreased population, and supplies. "Eaten anythin' today?"
"No, but I ain't hungry, either. Just, leave it alone, Brooks." Sebastian tried.
She shook her head. "I can't, not after what you told me. You really wanted that illness to kill you, didn't you?"
Sebastian turned over in bed, allowing Brooks to see his sunken eyes and paled skin. His eyes were bloodshot, so glazed over they could be mistaken for that of a walker. "I just want to see my family again... But, they're dead. My sister? I watched her throat get torn out. My father? I watched him drive away with his daughter's corpse, and never return. Whether he killed himself, or the dead killed him, I'll never know... Until, I die, and then I find them in whatever life is next. I may not be a religious man, Brooks, but I do believe there is life after death. Beyond that which plague our world."
"I wish I could say I understand where you're comin' from, or hell, what you're sayin'. I've never lost a person which means that much to me. My fat, old dog Buckster died... But, that's not the same as losin' your sister and father." Brooks acknowledged, remembering the book teaching her to never undermine a grieving person's pain. "I am sorry, for your losses. And, I know this is gonna sound ignorant for someone who hasn't experienced loss like you have, but, Sebastian... Hear me when I say that your death will not solve it... Because, you're goin' to die one day, anyways, right? There is no question 'bout it, you will die. Why speed up the process? Why not try and enjoy what time you have left? You said so yourself, you will see them again, and I bet they'd want you to be happy."
Sebastian simply turned his back to Brooks, and he sniffed out. It echoed, a small attempt of him trying not to sob. "Life isn't worth living without them in it. I've lost my mother, my father, my baby sister, my best friend, and now Karen. I can't lose anyone else, Brooks. I just couldn't handle that."
/----------\
Brooks had taken in her mother's words. She didn't leave Sebastian, but she didn't try to reason with him anymore, either. She stayed there, and offered a shoulder to cry on as he sobbed, and a comforting hand on his back when the numbness took over. But, she was there, she didn't speak, or undermine him... But, she was there, and that's all he needed.
Cam went to check on Sebastian, but when he saw Sebastian laying there as if he was sleeping, Brooks beside him with her hand on his back... He retreated from the room, and let the pair have their moment. Even though Sebastian was facing the wall, Brooks and Cam both knew he appreciated just Brooks' simple presence. Someone to let him know that he wasn't totally alone.
Sebastian was thinking, that perhaps Brooks was right. He was starting to consider the possibility that death wasn't the only way he'd be happy... Until there was a bang as loud as an explosion, and the Earth shook with such force, it felt like it was ending.
"What the hell was that?" Brooks asked, jumping to her feet.
Sebastian turned over in bed, looking up at her. "I don't know."
"Come with me." Brooks demanded, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet.
"Where are we goin'?" Sebastian asked as the two ran together. He didn't want to be, but he knew it was his turn to support Brooks, like she'd been supporting him for the past couple of years.
As the two were running outside, it was like it happened in slow motion. Brooks noticed one of the towers had been... Blown up, but that wasn't even the thing that caught her attention the most. On one of the brightly coloured benches she was running past... A robin. She hadn't seen one in two years, but there it was, sitting innocently on that bench, watching her, taunting her. Brooks could feel her heart sink in her chest, in that moment, she really did feel cursed.
Sebastian and Brooks got out there, and saw Beth, Maggie, Carl, Sophia, Rick, Daryl, Tyreese and Sasha were there already. "What's goin' on?" Brooks yelled as she and Seb approached the group.
Sophia turned to her, pale as a ghost. "It's the Governor."
Brooks peered around, and what she saw made her heart drop. The weather was too nice for this, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and it was warm. Not the type of warm that pisses you off because you're too hot; the type that makes you smile and want to sunbathe... Yet, there he was. The Governor, on top of a tank? He was surrounded by other cars, people too, not that Brooks could really make out any face other than his. To be honest, no face other than his really mattered. "Oh god." Brooks mumbled, taking a fearful step back.
"What's gonna happen?" Sebastian couldn't help but ask, although nobody had the heart to answer him - because nobody knew.
"It's not up to me!" Rick shouted down, Brooks assumed the Governor had said something before herself and Sebastian arrived. "There's a council now! They run this place!"
There was a beat of silence, before the Governor continued. "Is Michonne on the council?" Brooks gasped, and ran to the fence they were standing behind. Her fingers slipped through the gaps as she held on tightly, looking down in fear as Michonne was dragged from the car, hands bound behind her back before she was forced to her knees. "What about Marliya?" He continued.
"Ma!" Brooks shouted as she watched Marliya dragged down and forced in the same state.
"What's happenin'?" Hershel asked, walking over as fast as he could. He had a very obvious head injury, his left temple stained with blood that trickled down his face.
"Daddy!" Beth cried, holding onto her father tightly in fear.
Rick put a comforting hand on Brooks' shoulder, and kept it there as he continued. "I don't make decisions anymore!"
Brooks could practically hear the Governor's laugh. "You're making the decisions today, Rick. Come down here... Let's... Let's have that talk." Though his words were yelled so they could hear him over the great distance, they still seemed calm. Like he knew he had the upper hand. It was like he thought that there was no way this could go wrong for him.
Rick hesitated, but when Brooks looked up to him with those teary, scared, brown eyes, he knew what he needed to do. He gently grabbed the back of her head, and pulled her forward slightly to kiss her forehead. "I'll bring them back, okay?" He whispered. She nodded, and let a tear slide down her face, he kindly wiped it which mad her smile softly. After Rick shared a couple of words with Daryl and Carl, he headed down to speak with the Governor.
"Oh god." Brooks heard behind her, she turned and saw Merle. She hadn't seen him since he found out Carol wasn't coming back. His eyes were focused on Marliya, so much so that when he felt arms wrap around his torso in a hug, he looked down in surprise. He was shocked to see Brooks hugging him tightly, but he knew not to hesitate, so he was quick to hug her back, squeezing and rubbing his hand up and down her back. "They'll be okay, Bambi." He whispered, not sure if he even believed his own words.
She smiled slightly, but pulled back from him and turned down towards the field, without saying a word or looking him in the eyes. She had to watch, she had to see what would happen. Daryl put a hand on Merle's shoulder, and nodded once, which Merle did back. Sophia leaned into Merle worriedly, and he put his right arm around her shoulders. The two were very close, and secretly Sophia was starting to see Merle as the father she wished she had growing up. With Carol and Merle's close 'friendship', Merle was around the Peletier girls a lot. With Carol gone, Sophia felt that Merle was the only parental figure she had left. Brooks wasn't jealous, because she didn't care much for Merle the past couple of years.
"We can't take them all on." Daryl stated, speaking to the group subtly. "We'll go through the admin building, out into the woods like we planned."
"No." Brooks stated, desperately looking to him. "We can't just leave Michonne and ma down there, they'll be killed."
"We ain't got the numbers no more, Brook." Daryl responded, regret in his chest as he said the words.
Maggie wrapped her arms around Brooks' shoulders, holding her tightly as both watched in anticipation. Brooks tuned out the rest of Daryl's conversation with Sasha and Tyreese, because frankly she didn't care. All she could do, was watch her mother and aunt being held hostage by a mad man.
The conversation seemed to go on for hours. The day got just a bit colder the longer they watched, fear eating at them. Brooks knew that Rick was doing all he could, but whether or not it would be enough - she didn't know. Anger ate at her as she watched the Governor, how could he be there? Where had he been hiding all along? Has he been here the whole time?
Just as things were going on so long, people assumed that they were doing a good job on negotiating, until... The Governor raised Michonne's katana, and swung it down.
-Trigger warnings!
Heavy mentions of suicide and depression